Soundsmith SG/SG-230 Cartridge

A wild departure from the MM/MC norm, Soundsmith's SG joins a select group including TechDAS' TDC01 Ti, top Koetsus and others of that ilk, as well as the equally-unusual DS Audio designs.

Singular driving force behind the revival of the strain gauge generator system first seen in phono pick-ups from the '60-70s, Soundsmith's latest offering is nothing if not flexible

Hardly scientific, I know, but I am predisposed toward components that cause binge-listening. Not knowing what to expect of the Soundsmith Strain Gauge cartridge and the accompanying SG-230 preamp/energiser at a pound shy of £16,000, I will declare my surprise upon discovering that it was so engaging, I listened to 14 LPs in a row in their entirety. I repeat: fourteen.

Yes, it's that kind of a device, but getting to the stage where it wowed me into submission was tortuous, as you will see. I had only ever heard the two pre-Soundsmith strain gauge cartridges of which I am aware  in the distant past, including a Sao Win design in a system in California some 35 years ago, and brief exposure to the UK-made Euphonics Miniconic from the late-1960s. Audio memory ain't that great, so I had no preconceptions about Soundsmith's realisation of this technique.

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• Strain Gauge Cartridge Systems

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